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San Francisco (AFP) – Twitter reinstated blue badges to some media outlets and celebrities on Saturday, after removing the blue badge from users who didn’t pay for it, a move opposed by many stakeholders.
Elon Musk, who bought Twitter at the end of October for 44,000 million dollars, had promised to get rid of the blue mark that a user obtained after verifying their identity and meeting certain conditions.
The company began mass removal of the badge on Thursday, resulting in thousands of widely recognized accounts appearing without the verification badge.
To have the blue badge, it is necessary to pay $8 monthly from Thursday, a fee that allows access to other advantages of “Twitter Blue”, which includes more visibility and fewer ads.
But less than 5% of the 407,000 verified profiles signed up for the new plan, according to Travis Brown, a software developer who monitors social media platforms from Berlin.
However, on Friday and Saturday, a number of celebrities regained their hallmarks without any apparent counterpart, including writer Stephen King, NBA champion LeBron James and former US President Donald Trump.
Musk tweeted Friday that he was “paying a few [suscripciones] personally”.
The insignia was reinstated for some media, including the AFP and the New York Times, whose brand is gold, reserved for organizations that pay at least $1,000 per month.
Many of those who inadvertently obtained the blue badge made it clear that they had not subscribed, as the seal became a symbol of support for tycoon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX.
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